www.ecao.org 8 A FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRAEME AITKEN As I continue to grow into this role as the Executive Director of ECAO, a role I feel is critical to the success and growth of our Association, I am so impressed by the commitment, wisdom, and professionalism of our members, affiliate partners, and industry associates. I have now had an opportunity to spend time, discuss our past and future, and get to know many of you through attendance at your events, committee meetings, and social events.There is, without doubt, a shared desire for and willingness to work to realize a more prominent place for ECAO and its members within the construction industry. With the unwavering support of your Board of Directors we have undertaken a number of significant projects and initiatives to better serve our electrical contracting community. Notwithstanding that many have heard of ECAO’s recent endeavours, I want to share a few of these with a larger audience. 1.  TeksMed Services. TeksMed is a proud affiliate partner of the ECAO, offering a complete WSIB claims management solution to all ECAO members at no extra cost. They support our members by reducing the amount of time spent on claim administration while lowering WSIB costs, saving both time and money. TeksMed’s services include: return to work management, legal representation, expedited health care, comprehensive reporting, ARO and WSIAT appeals, as well as in-person representation. ECAO has entered into a new agreement with TeksMed that now covers members’ office employees in addition to their IBEW employees. 2.  Program assessment. Whether jointly-funded through JEPP (Joint Electrical Promotion Plan) or solely through ECAO, we are undergoing a thorough assessment of all contracts, service agreements, and consultant engagements to ensure all such arrangements provide tangible benefits to our members. In conjunction with a number of ECAO and JEPP committees and working groups we are seeking feedback on programs and renegotiating contracts and agreements to provide clear deliverables and consistent terms and conditions. 3.  Databases. In addition to the obvious uninteresting nature of this subject matter to most, it is also a laborious and tedious undertaking. Yet, designing and implementing new architecture for our databases is, in our view, crucial to moving forward in a manner that allows us to keep pace with developing technology and systems.Thank you for your patience and cooperation during our database transition. Whether it is having the ability to communicate with members in a particular sector or geographic area, having confidence that our information is being delivered to the correct recipients, or being able to easily reference members and affiliate partners from a reliable source, it is imperative that ECAO can be more responsive and accurate when providing information to our members, partners, and community. 4.  Building and/or re-building relationships. The beginning of this year has seen us meet with a great number of the members of our industry, in addition to our members and partners, to solidify or begin anew our relationships. These are people and entities that have an impact, sometimes daily, on the manner in which our members conduct business. We have met with the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA), Ontario College of Trades (OCoT), Ministry of Labour (MOL), Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS), service providers (media, promotion, insurers, etc.), and numerous external boards and committees such as Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA), Canadian Construction Association (CCA), and the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association (CECA). Most importantly, we are continuously working to strengthen our relationship with our labour partners – the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The challenges are varied, the work rewarding, and the interactions stimulating. I am as excited about ECAO’s development as I was when first presented this opportunity. However, your volunteerism, insightful viewpoints, and eagerness to contribute have elevated my zeal to proudly represent ECAO and our partners. I wish you all a safe, prosperous, and enjoyable summer. Wherever you are, you’re never that far from our experienced team of construction, engineering and infrastructure law professionals. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com Dan J. Leduc 613.780.1536 dan.leduc@nortonrosefulbright.com